Dusted

Statement:

“The natural elements of prosperity seem concentrated in profusion seldom found. In our primitive simplicity we reasoned that if we could take ores from the mountains and reduce them to gold and silver with which to pay for labor and purchase the productions of the valleys, a community could be established in the country independent of foreign resources. The result will show the success or failure of this Utopian scheme.”

– Charles D. Poston, Building a State in Apache Land 1878

Manifest destiny, the paradoxical idea of divine conquest, has taken over the land and has continued as an America mandate throughout history. The ideas and virtues of early settlers were brought to the West in hopes of developing utopian grandeur for themselves, but as they expanded they left dust in their wake. The sprit of Manifest destiny flourished within the mining industry as the settlers moved cross-country, building towns and cutting minerals from the mountains. But what happens when the gold goes and the mines cost outweighs its profit? “Dusted,” questions this history of the manifest destiny by exploring the impact of mining and reveling what is left behind after the this cyclical mining process has ended and moved on to the next place.

All photographs created over 2019-current